Ryokan (2)
Ryokan (2)
"Y-you want me to wear this?"
It wasn't just the flower embroidery.
The yukata A-ra was holding
was, by my standards, a design women would wear.
Not only was it embroidered with floral patterns,
but the pink and white base looked truly beautiful together.
If there was a flaw,
it was that it was an excessively cute piece of clothing.
If A-ra wore it, it would have been just right,
but there was no way I could pull it off.
"Come on, you're only going to wear it inside the ryokan. And look, there's a black outer robe too."
"N-no..."
"Even though noona wants to see you in it?"
"....."
I had been confident, telling myself I'd even wear a maid outfit or a girl's school uniform if A-ra wanted me to,
but when actually faced with it in reality, going through with it wasn't easy.
Was it because, last time when A-ra made a similar face asking me to wear a girl's school uniform and I did,
she even took photos and made it her phone wallpaper?
Knowing that an embarrassing moment could be preserved forever in an instant
made me even more self-conscious and reluctant.
"Seong-hwan-a...."
Still, how could I ignore that expression bordering on desperate and plaintive?
After all, A-ra had worn plenty of embarrassing clothes for my sake too.
Refusing here
when we had come all the way to Japan for a rare trip—it was neither polite nor the right thing to do.
"....Alright."
I shed invisible tears in my heart
and took off my shirt and pants.
*
"See? It suits you perfectly, doesn't it?"
A-ra gently wrapped her arms around my shoulders from behind
and guided me in front of the full-length mirror.
Embarrassed by the touch of A-ra's hands personally dressing me,
I opened my eyes, which I'd squeezed shut,
and decided to check how I looked.
"...Huh? It's not as bad as I thought."
"Right? I told you it suits you perfectly."
A-ra grinned brightly and finished tying the waist sash for me.
Since I was wearing the outer robe over it,
it didn't stand out as much as I'd feared, the balance wasn't bad,
and it didn't differ much from a women's yukata, so it wasn't half bad.
Of course, from my perspective, I would have preferred a dark solid color,
but all the men around here dress so brightly...
If I thought of it as accepting the natural order of this world, it just felt like comfortable, nice clothing.
"You look great in yours too, noona."
"Really? It's my first time wearing one, so I can't really tell..."
As A-ra said that, she spun around in place like a model.
The dark solid color harmonized well with A-ra's hair
and gave off a calm, neat impression.
I even thought that she could walk right out, form a Song A-ra-kai,
and become a direct-line squad leader in a massive organization.
Anyway, that large chest doesn't really match the outfit, though.
Maybe because wearing that yukata itself gave me the feeling she was cross-dressing,
the chest that suddenly jutted out didn't fit the look.
If she wrapped it up, the style would really come alive.
"S-Seong-hwan-a, that place is... ahng..."
A-ra was letting out a moan, her face flushed red.
When I came to my senses,
my hands were already touching A-ra's pudding.
"Earlier, when you were dressing me, you touched my body as you pleased, didn't you, noona?"
"D-did I? Noona doesn't remember... haahk...."
The fact that she was lying while blushing
only made me think she was trying to seduce me.
A-ra, oddly enough, in this kind of atmosphere,
wouldn't force herself on me or anything; instead, she would twist her whole body
and wait, hoping I'd make the first move.
"Noona."
"Uh... yeah...?"
After taking my hands off her chest, I called A-ra.
I stroked the head of the confused A-ra, caught off guard by the sudden call.
"We decided we'd just drop off our luggage and go out. Let's go quickly."
It was still only 4 PM; it felt a bit off to be messing around.
And there wasn't even a bed here, so doing the main event was a bit of a stretch.
A hotel we move to tomorrow, maybe...
"R-right, you're right. Then, shall we stop by that place we passed on the way here earlier?"
"Ah, you mean that lake we passed earlier?"
"It was incredibly pretty. Don't men like places like that?"
I didn't particularly like them,
but I nodded because I wanted to see the happy look on A-ra's face.
There was also something I was keeping a secret.
Yufuin had a retro car museum.
When I'd asked for Yufuin recommendations on a community board,
someone had posted a lengthy comment suggesting the retro car museum.
Probably an A-ra fan, right?
I looked it up and saw a post raving about it,
saying that for retro car lovers, it was a must-visit spot at least once,
so I made a note of it.
If I casually take her there later, she'd like it, right?
"Let's go to the lake first, then."
Because the image of a happy A-ra was already drawn in my head,
my mood was noticeably lifted
as I linked my arm through A-ra's.
A-ra, smiling, was adorable as always.
***
We visited Kinrin Lake, the place A-ra had suggested,
and then returned toward the village, heading to Retro Park.
This place, which recreates a back alley from the Showa 30s,
was said to be especially popular.
Seeing that it was popular even with foreigners who knew nothing about that era,
it must be the best spot for people who love taking photos.
A-ra liked taking photos,
and she seemed to like the atmosphere itself, as she was wandering around here and there.
"The Showa 30s—when was that?"
"If it's 1958 to 1973... that would be after the liberation of Korea."
Comparing this street to the Korean Peninsula at the time of liberation
left a bitter taste in my mouth.
That bitterness was visible in A-ra's smile too,
but she soon smiled brightly again and made a surprised face.
"MaXko was nine years old set in the 50s?!"
"That manga is set in the 1970s."
From what I'd studied, after signing a treaty with the U.S.,
hosting the Olympics and the World Expo,
the pains of rapid growth became distorted, and a real estate explosion
sparked the 'bubble economy.'
Perhaps because A-ra wasn't very interested in Japanese history,
she just went over to a red mailbox and made a V-sign with her fingers.
Seeing A-ra being that cute,
all I did was diligently take pictures.
It was nice that I brought both an action cam and the camera I used when filming for broadcasts,
so I could take high-quality photos.
I should take a ton of pictures of just A-ra, print them all out,
and keep them in a binder like cards.
"Oh? What's that?"
"Noona! If you run around like that, your underwear will show!"
Chasing after A-ra, whose curiosity had been sparked,
was no easy task.
Actually, the retro car museum was scheduled for tomorrow.
If we'd tried to see it today, I didn't think I'd have the energy left.
*
"Haa... That was so much fun."
As we returned to the ryokan, checked the time, and waited for dinner,
A-ra smiled brightly.
I was glad she had fun.
"What are we doing tomorrow?"
"First, we'll stop by the place we couldn't see today and left for later,
then head back to Hakata Station, drop our luggage at the hotel,
and start exploring the city."
Since we headed straight to Yufuin today,
we hadn't been able to properly see Hakata, Tenjin, or Nakasu.
I wanted to visit a second-hand shop like Book Off,
and also go to Canal City, famous as a date course, for some shopping.
"A place we couldn't see and left for later?"
A-ra tilted her head.
Thanks to wandering around diligently for four hours,
we'd seen most places,
but there was exactly one spot we hadn't seen, and it was still left.
"I'll tell you tomorrow. It's still a secret."
"That's stingy."
She stuck her tongue out in a pout, then picked up the camera that was on the table
and started flipping through the photos.
"Huh? Seong-hwan-a, why are there only pictures of me?"
"I only took pictures of you, noona, so of course there should only be pictures of you, right?"
A-ra touched the camera's LCD screen
to flip through the next photos,
her face struggling to hold back a laugh.
"Pfft...! Do you really like noona that much?"
"Of course."
My phone probably had well over a thousand photos of just A-ra.
Everything from ones collected on the internet to ones I personally took.
If fans were caught with an album like that, it would be embarrassing, right?
But I wasn't embarrassed at all.
Because that's the privilege of her husband!
As we were chatting and laughing,
the staff brought us dinner.
When it comes to dinner at a ryokan, it's kaiseki, and sure enough, kaiseki cuisine was served.
The sashimi and steak came out together,
so I wondered if they would pair well, but perhaps the chef was exceptionally skilled,
as we were able to enjoy a harmonious and delicious meal.
A-ra seemed to have loved everything,
but my favorite was the pumpkin dumpling I tried for the first time.
The dumpling, in a thick ginger sauce reminiscent of tangsuyuk sauce,
was exquisite.
It was so good that I thought, if they served this at a truly serious Japanese or Chinese restaurant,
you could call it a masterpiece.
"You like that one? Have mine too."
"A-are you sure?"
"Noona doesn't really like pumpkin."
Seeing me eating so happily, she smiled,
then handed her pumpkin dumpling over to me.
I vividly remembered the way A-ra had devoured pumpkin soup like a demon,
so I realized at once that she was lying.
That glutton A-ra... was giving her food to me.
If I refused here, I would be ignoring A-ra's goodwill.
I quietly accepted the bowl she handed me.